Harkfast Q7
The ending of the book was more of a stopping place. Did this bother you? Did you wish for a sequel to tell the next part of the story of Ruan and his progress in becoming king?
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Yes, it felt like there would be a sequel, and Id' likely read it if there was. I'm curious how Ruan goes from gormless boy to King - seems like he has a long road ahead of him. And what kind of king will he be? Presumably one that rises above the brutality of his youth (or really, what's the point?)
I'd've liked more, to be honest - since I was reading an actual dead-tree book it was abundantly obvious that I was reaching the end, and so I knew that the tale wasn't going to get anywhere conclusive. But it still felt disappointing that so little had been accomplished.
Regarding the unwritten sequel(s), as mentioned in an earlier thread I wasn't sure if the intention was to write an upbeat Ruan-the-noble-conqueror book, or a downbeat Ruan-the-tragic hero-that-failed book - or even whether Hugh Rae had settled in his mind which would be better. I don't think there's a convenient empty gap in Scottish history, such as is known, for a great and glorious kingdom to flourish for a while, so maybe he was always heading for an Arthurian magnificent failure?
As the the Arthur connection, the book seemed like a "gritty" retelling of the Arthur story, with Harkfast as Merlin.
The sudden ending bothered me in an 'I was left hanging, now we'll never know..." sense, but far stronger was the relief that I didn't have to read more of this story. Thank God this was written before fantasy novels were required to be Family Bible sized.
> The sudden ending bothered me in an 'I was left hanging, now we'll never know..." sense, but far stronger was the relief that I didn't have to read more of this story. Thank God this was written before fantasy novels were required to be Family Bible sized.
I share all of these sentiments. Which is surprising, given the good reviews the book received.